Almost 5% of adults aged under 50 had COPD, in a study of 10,680 18- to 49-year-olds.
There was a greater risk of premature death, and hospitalization or death due to chronic lower respiratory disease (CLRD), coronary heart disease or heart failure with ‘young COPD,’ according to researchers in the United States.
The first nationwide study in the United States confirms the connection between high energy burden and asthma prevalence.
Using data from 500 urban areas, the study highlights how the inability to afford household energy costs impacts respiratory health. High energy burden was significantly associated with greater asthma prevalence regardless of climate region, after accounting for socioeconomic and housing aspects.
A study of over 13,500 adults in the United States found that almost 1 in 20 failed spirometry, having a greater burden of respiratory symptoms and an increased risk of death.
The chance of shortness of breath, wheezing or whistling, and dry cough at night was higher in people who failed spirometry than in those who did not. Their risk of all-cause mortality was as high as that of people with COPD.
An AI tool that does not need additional human expertise is able to detect common diagnoses in adults with dyspnea.
The tool was developed using in-hospital or emergency department (ED) discharge notes from almost 11,000 ED visits in Sweden. Unlike other AI models, it simultaneously predicted acute heart failure, exacerbation of COPD and pneumonia among patients with dyspnea at the beginning of their ED visit.
The burden of cough in adults with undiagnosed asthma or COPD has been evaluated in a Canadian study, highlighting its negative impact on quality of life for these individuals.
Cough was 3 times more severe in adults with undiagnosed respiratory symptoms than in symptomatic individuals or those with normal spirometry. The study findings suggest that spirometry assessment of people with cough may lead to earlier diagnosis of asthma or COPD.
A worrying trend of declining physical activity has been uncovered by a large study in Denmark.
Despite asthma guidelines recommending exercise alongside pharmacological treatment, the number of people with asthma who engaged in moderate or vigorous exercise significantly decreased from 2010 to 2021. Pain, poor mental health and smoking were all associated with lower levels of activity.
A tool that may predict the risk of depression in older adults with asthma has been developed in China.
The Depression Risk Identification Tool (DRIT), which was created using machine learning, identified critical risk factors such as cognitive ability, levels of physical exercise, marital status and sex.
Mild to moderate COPD is linked to accelerated bone loss, but only in individuals with vitamin D deficiency.
In the US Multi-ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, people with COPD and vitamin D deficiency had a much faster rate of vertebral bone mineral density (BMD) loss over 6 years than those without COPD. As nearly half the people with mild to moderate COPD had vitamin D deficiency, this points to the potential importance of vitamin D status in people with COPD.
New research substantiates the association between H. pylori infection and both asthma and COPD.
In a large study in South Korea, people with H. pylori infection had a significantly higher risk of developing asthma or COPD. Asthma risk was consistent regardless of age and smoking status, but the risk of COPD was higher among older adults and current smokers.
Limiting sugar intake in early life reduces the risk of developing asthma and COPD in adulthood.
The end of sugar rationing in the United Kingdom in September 1953 allowed researchers to explore the effect of early-life sugar rationing in a large population. Individuals who experienced sugar restriction both in the womb and during the first 2 years of life had a 25% lower risk of asthma and a 27% lower risk of COPD than those who did not experience rationing.
Patients with asthma in China who received psychological support and respiratory training had significantly reduced anxiety and improved lung function.
Psychological support was based on cognitive behavioural therapy and respiratory training included abdominal and chest breathing exercises. The improvements seen with these interventions suggests the combination should be integrated into asthma management.
A new study in China expands the known relationship between airway mucus plugs and the risk of acute exacerbations of COPD.
People with COPD and a high burden of mucus plugs had more disease symptoms, airflow limitation and small airway dysfunction as well as lower BMI. This study provides more evidence to prioritize the identification of mucus plugs on CT scans.
Diets with a high inflammatory potential may be associated with sleep disorders in asthma.
Researchers in the United States evaluated the pro- and anti-inflammatory balance of diets in over 4400 adults with asthma. The risk of sleep disturbance increased with higher inflammatory potential although the pattern was U-shaped for men and linear for women.
CC-MED-4-03/2026
Διαμοιρασμός περιεχομένου